referrals

Generate 100 referrals a quarter from word of mouth advertising!

Word of mouth advertising is the best kind of advertising, and not because it’s free!

Word of mouth advertising is the best type of advertising because it comes from a customer who knows, likes and trusts you. Plus the fact that it’s free is a great perk!

Ask yourself this question; Do I want to generate 100 new referrals, every quarter, by word of mouth advertising?

Of course!

Would you also agree that there is no better way to learn than to hear it from a source that has and does generate 100 new referrals a quarter?

Below is a short interview where Danielle Ratliff will share her relationship marketing secrets, that has generated 100 referrals a quarter from word of mouth advertising.

https://www.appreciationpal.com/massage-therapist-edition#!195

Thank you cards are one of the most powerful tools in building a huge network

Bob Burg, in his book Endless Referrals says,

“Thank you cards are one of the most powerful tools in building a huge network, both professionally and socially.

People with the most impressive networks are typically avid card writers.

It’s one of the best techniques for long-term winning without intimidation. I suggest getting into the habit immediately of sending out cards.”

We all wish that we were better – I can help you with that!

www.SendOutCards.com/holiday – watch the video on the site, and then click to send a card free, and contact me with the questions you have.

The Fire and Forget System

(A metaphor for any businessperson who seeks loyal clients & quality referrals.)
Once upon a time, the commander of an F-15E Strike Eagle squadron was issued a warehouse full of *fire and forget* missiles.
Surely, a no-brainer. Simply acquire the contact, launch the missile, then concentrate on the next target.(Like I said, an easy decision.)
Strange as it may seem, the squadron commander decided against employing this massively effective weapons system.
His reasoning?
It takes too much effort to attach those things to the aircraft.

You will recognize that this story, of course, is a fairy tale.
In reality, any manager or business owner (or salesperson) who fails to acknowledge that all business is a type of warfare, just doesn’t get it.
But they will – eventually.

Why in the world would any businessperson leave to chance, whether or not a client decides to return (and refer friends)?

But, we gave them courteous service and a fine product, is the lament voiced too often by good and earnest businesspeople. Without question, service and product are essential to success. But they are not enough. And the statement is a little naive.

The answer obviously is to go after them (your clients). Make sure that they come back, again and again. Make sure that they want to come back (and refer their friends).

Nagging and cajoling won’t work. Postcards, brochures and letters rarely prove effective. The average consumer receives dozens of these each week.
(Personally, I rarely even open the ones I receive. Although, I sometimes read the postcards.)

The 7.5 billion dollar greeting card industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to indoctrinate every living American that those who care enough, send greeting cards.
(Why not take advantage of three decades of their successful, and extremely expensive, advertising stratagem?)

When you send your new or best clients a greeting card they know you care, because the greeting card giants have taught all of us that this is true. And we believe it, without exception.
Nobody leaves a greeting card unopened for long. In fact, studies show that a person is 11 times more likely to open a greeting card than any other piece of mail.

Your customers will respond, naturally, with greater client loyalty toward you, if you do this correctly. (Just as customers have responded since 1400 A.D.)

Do you want to be like everyone else?

If you want to be good, do your job – like they tell you – like everyone else….
If you want to SUCCEED – do your job BETTER than they told you – BETTER than everybody else…..
Eventually your INCOME will surpass EVERYBODY else……

So many people SAY they want more money – I mean – who doesn’t???

But the thing is, what are you doing to GET MORE than everybody else? Like the saying goes – “if you keep doing, what you have always been doing, then you will keep getting what you have always been getting.”

What are you doing to stand out from the crowd?

You do not have to be bold, daring, arrogant, proud…. team task management software.You can be successful – and still be truthful, honest, professional, humble….etc. Many people throughout life, I have heard think that people that “have it made” are very arrogant or rude…(and yes, I do beleive SOME are) but I beleive MOST are not. There IS a difference in being self-confident and egotistical.

You could own your own business, or you could work at a job somewhere – but in either case, you should go above and beyond all measures of what is expected of you. People who become millionaires, did not become millionaires because they sat around doing nothing – they became millionaires, because they wanted to live a different lifestyle, they did not want to “be like everybody else”

I am sure we have all mostly had a job where we knew someone at that job – that did what they were supposed to do, and even did it well. But that is ALL they did – JUST what they were asked. Which, in a way, is fine, I mean – they will keep their job, probably, and they will earn their salary. But – what about the ones that do that same exact job….but go ABOVE AND BEYOND what the boss asked them to – even though they would not get paid any different. Who do you think that boss is going to look towards, when they decide to promote someone?

Same thing in owning your own business:

If you are a carpet cleaner, and you clean carpets VERY well. That is great. But if say you are not available when I need it the next time, so I get someone else….and they do VERY well also – BUT they go ABOVE AND BEYOND what I asked and do a better cleaning, or a little extra spot – or extra time on a stain I did not even mention, or….who do you think I am going to call on next time?

If you are a car salesman, and you sell cars VERY well. That is great. But if say you are not available when I need to buy the next time, so I get someone else….and they do VERY well also – BUT they go ABOVE AND BEYOND what I asked and do a little extra, add a few perks, send out card to me after the sale to keep in touch with me, send out newsletters to me of neat ideas and events I might be interested in, call me every 6 months to just check in, or….who do you think I am going to call on next time?

If you are an insurance agent, and you sell your policy VERY well. That is great. But if you only send me a bill once every 6 months or a year, but I never hear from you any other time, or you might even send me a cheese *blanket* birthday card once a year….What do you think is going to happen when someone else starts approaching me to get my business…do you think I will take a look at what they are offering and compare it?
Do you think I would if you sent out a card every month or even every few months – just to keep in touch……or even had some sort of contact in between the yearly bills?

The thing is – anyone can do a JOB – it takes a GREAT person – to do a GREAT job – and stand out above the crowd. “People will do business, with people they know, like, and trust”. You might get a client once, on a “by chance” ad through the paper or something like that – but will they STAY with you?

The secret to KEEPING your clients – and getting your clients to give you ENDLESS REFERRALS without even asking – is to keep in touch with them, and be BETTER than everybody else – that is providing the same service that you do.

Keeping in Touch with Your Clients

Many people want business right – we all do! But we expect people to remember us 2 years after we have done business with them! Are they going to? Would you? If someone, for example, sold you a car…..They were a GREAT salesperson, did a GREAT job, you LOVED their service, and DEFINITELY would recommend them to anyone you knew. So, now 2 years down the road, your friend Sally mentions to you she is thinking about buying a new car. Do you remember the guys name that sold you the car to refer him business? Well, if he has NOT kept in touch with you AT ALL, you probably do not! But – if he sent you an email, called you, or sent you a greeting card in the mail, once a month, or even once every couple months, then he would be “TOP OF MIND” with you, and you would *probably* remember him, and you would be HAPPY to tell your friend Sally about your experience with him, and would tell her to call him. You would remember the name of the dealership as well as the saleman’s name!

Isn’t this how you want to run your business? Don’t you WANT your clients to remember you? Harvard’s Business School says we all know about 250 people in our *circle of influence*. Do you want to tap into those, or would you LIKE to tap into the 250 people that your 250 people know??? I like the latter idea much more! With that – same thing, if you KEEP IN TOUCH with the 250 people you know, by sending them emails, making phone calls, or even sending a greeting card once a month or once every few months – it would help you to stay “TOP OF MIND” with all your friends, family and clients….

And when you do this, people are going to remember you, and if they think you do a good job in your business, they are going to refer you to their friends and family – without you even asking!

Isn’t that the point we would ALL LOVE our business to be? 100% based on referrals without ANY advertising?

That IS how I run my business, and have for years…..and if you stay tuned, I will teach you tips and tricks I have learned and used over the years to help me, that can also help you in your business.

~Laurie Delk

Increase your Business Using Personal Greeting Cards

One piece of etiquette, that I’ve used in my business from the beginning…are unique cards. Just the power of sending a unique card…. They are sent so rarely, that when you do, you stand out. When people open your card and/or your gift, there’s a moment of surprise! and you’ve got their complete attention.

In today’s technology world, with email and texting and social media, that surprise is magnified 10-fold. I’ve been SO fortunate to receive THOUSANDS of thank you cards over the last 25 years in my business.

And….I have saved every single one, because they are special, they share thoughts and messages of love, gratitude and thanks share to me by friends, family, customers and clients.

It’s the POWER of APPRECIATION. The law of appreciation says – whoever you show appreciation to, will appreciate in value. In our personal and business relationships….it’s best to do the little things, consistently, to show that we appreciate others.

If we did a study on a group of married couples, or even in business/client relationships….
And asked, what is the biggest problem in your relationship….very FEW people would come back saying that they get TOO much appreciation…..they are shown TOO much kindness, bought too many gifts, given too many cards…..right? haha!

There has been studies that have shown the #1 reason “why customers leave”….is at 68% because of PERCEIVED INDIFFERENCE. That means that they were actually satisfied w the product or service, but they felt a LACK of emotional connection, or consistent appreciation – they just did not FEEL a reason to STAY!

Some ideas are – Send out a card – and customize it, so it is unique to THEIR business or situation, or even one of their interests (a tip for this is if you connect with them on social media as well, you can have a little insight into their personal life of their family, sports or other things they love and have a passion for.)

I have used an amazing system to help me do this, since 2004, called Send Out Cards, with GREAT success. With the Send Out Cards system, I have access to thousands of cards, in an instant, because it is ONLINE. with the card, I can also add a little gift, (or a big one!) like brownies, candies, herb teas, gourmet coffees, gifts for men, women, kids, or even pets! I can also even add a gift card if I choose.

With the system, I have the ability to send out the SAME card, customized with EACH person’s name, to 1 person at a time, 10 people, 100, 1000, or any amount of people I choose! This past Christmas I sent out over 3000 cards to friends, family, clients and customers.

Send Out Cards prints it, stuffs it, stamps it and puts it in the REAL mail for me – all for about a dollar including postage!

I can choose any number of fonts to write it in, just like when you choose an email, you can choose different looks for your letters, but I can also even fill out a form and mail it to the company and they will create a CUSTOM font of my PERSONAL handwriting, so the cards are actually sent in my REAL handwriting and/or signature! I LOVE this option!

I can import my contacts, or add them one by one, and I can put them into different groups, of how I want to categorize and organize them – that is unique to me.

If you would like to know more of how this system works, take a FREE trial on it, or have questions – please contact me at Iam@LaurieDelk.me

Now…..WHEN should you send a card to someone?
Whenever you think – someone went out of their way for you – send them a card
Whenever someone allows you to talk to them about your service or product, send them a thank you for their time.

When someone sends you a referral. When someone does business with you – after a sale.
These are times when it is really good to include a gift card, or a nice gift, to let them know you really appreciate them.

You can send cards to say “Great job!” “Well done!” “Congrats on the wedding” or the baby….
Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, Sympathy……and so much for for any reason or occasion to reach out and build on your relationship with your clients or customers.

I can tell you from personal and professional experience in my web and graphic design business as well as working with thousands of other clients in order to help them increase their bottom line in their traditional business….that the habit of sending out cards, and gifts – is definitely worth the habit of developing…..it says a lot about you – and your business, who you are, how you handle your business.

The key is, using a system, and sending them out on a regular basis. If you just try it for a few months, and then stop, because you don’t see immediate results, you will not see long term results. I have seen this many times….but if you are consistent, every month, building relationships with your clients by keeping in touch, every single month, I can guarantee you, seeing results in your business around 25% increase….or I’d be even willing to bet reimbursing you the cost that you spent on those cards, if you followed those exact rules — sending a card, once a month, with NO sales spiel in it, just keeping in touch every month for 5 months, and then maybe 1 card within a 6 month period, some sort of sales promotion….we call this Master Relationship Marketing – You build the relationship 80% of the time, and market only up to 20% of the time.

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